The Quantum Landscape 2013

I shall give an introduction to conceptual ideas and equations of the CSL (Continuous Spontaneous Localization) theory of dynamical wave function collapse. Then, I shall discuss various applications of the theory.

Models of spontaneous wave function collapse make predictions, which are different from those of standard quantum mechanics. Indeed, these models can be considered as a rival theory, against which the standard theory can be tested, in pretty much the same way in which parametrized post-Newtonian gravitational theories are rival theories of general relativity. The predictions of collapse models almost coincide with those of standard quantum mechanics at the microscopic level, as these models have to account for the microscopic world, as we know it.

I will present a recent theorem that asserts that there cannot exist an "extension of quantum theory" that allows us to make more informative predictions about future measurable events (e.g., whether a horizontally polarized photon passes a polarization filter with a given orientation) than standard quantum theory.